Head Concussions Can Lead to Academic Problems: STUDY

When a child suffers a head concussion, the injuries can have long lasting effects, not just on the field but in the classroom too, according to a new study.

A new study in the journal Pediatrics says that depends on two major factors: how severe the concussion symptoms your child is having and the grade level of the child.

The study drew data from more than 20,000 U.S. football players in 2012 and 2013. The results were not comforting: Nearly 1,200 concussions occurred on college and high school football fields in a two-season span, with two-third of them happening among high school football players.

"My colleagues and I have been hearing for years that kids with concussions have problems in school, but there was no evidence to show what the problems are, and how frequently they are occurring," she says.

Concussions accounted for a larger percentage of total football injuries among college players compared to high school athletes, registering at eight and four percent, respectively. That percentage was highest among youth football players, though, where nearly 10 percent of all injuries were concussions.

Overall, a high school player participating in any given season faces a 10 percent chance of sustaining a concussion during that year.

The American Academy of Pediatrics made a similar recommendation in a 2013 clinical report, saying schools should create a multi-disciplinary team to ease a student-athlete's transition back to the classroom after he or she sustains a concussion.

"We know that children who've had a concussion may have trouble learning new material and remembering what they've learned, and returning to academics may worsen concussion symptoms," said Dr. Mark Halstead, a lead author of the AAP's report, at the time.